Andean condor By: Unknown photographer From: Wildlife Fact-File 1990s

[232/10,977] Andean Condor - Vultur gryphus

Order: Accipitriformes Family: Cathartidae (new world vultures)

Photo credit: Jorge Muñoz García via Macaulay Library

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)

© Frank Shufelt

TW Suicide, incorrect bird facts, bird death, simulated suicide treated seriously,

Something about Grian not being a parrot but an Andean Condor hybrid, a bird that loves so deeply that when it loses it’s mate, it flies as high as it can and then drops, plummeting off a cliff to it’s death. Something about Grian leaving his mate behind, bleeding in the sand, to leap off the peak of Monopoly Mountain. Knowing his wings are bound, knowing he cannot catch himself, leaping off the cliff. Because his instincts told him that life without his mate wasn’t worth it.

Andean condor bathing

Animal of the Day!

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)

(Photo by Jorge Garcia)

Conservation Status- Vulnerable

Habitat- Andes Mountains

Size (Weight/Length)- 15 kg; 1.3 m; 3 m wingspan

Diet- Carion

Cool Facts- Combining their weight and wingspan, the Andean condor is the world’s largest flying bird. Eating almost exclusively carrion, their stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve bones and diseases alike. Due to their massive size, these condors have a difficult time getting off the ground. Using strong winds, they launch themselves into the air and glide on currents. Using their 3 meter long wings, Andean condors only have to flap their wings once every half hour to stay aloft. Adult Andean condors are almost always found as a pair with their lifelong mate, laying only one egg every few years. In 1970, the Andean condor was placed into a breeding program due to  poisoning and persecution by farmers. Almost 10 years before the reintroduction of the California condor, the Andean condor spread their wings and were brought back into the native habitat where they still fly strong.

Rating- 13/10 (I have a soft spot for vultures of all kinds.)

The Andean condor is the largest bird in the American hemisphere and one of the largest flying birds in the world. They rarely flap their wings, instead gliding on the thermal currents of the mountains.

In Inca myth condors are the representation and children of Inti, the Sun. This makes them cousins of a sort to the line of Incas, also sons of the Sun. Are the birds of Colca the last born heirs of the Sun in the 450 years since the beheading of Túpac Amaru? Maybe. They do seem like demigods, and their home in Colca Canyon, Arequipa region, one of the deepest canyons in the world, is a magic place. I visited and took this shot in May 2019. Theme music provided.

Day 19 of Birdtober: Andean Condor

"La capital se ubica en la rivera suroeste del extenso lago. La vista ofrece la imponente cordillera en el horizonte, cubierta de nieve" Parte 1/? La capital 🏞️🏙️

Andean condor chick By: Unknown photographer From: Wildlife Fact-File 1990s

Inktober day 6: Andean condor

Went up 13,000 ft to Antisana volcano looking for Andean condors. There are fewer than 100 left in Ecuador, and we were absurdly lucky and saw at least 25% of them! At one point there were at least 11 of them feeding on a dead cow. What an incredible privilege to be able to see the largest bird of prey in the world in its native habitat.

Battle Royale

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE (F-2)

These birds of prey don't really play nice with others, so we had to separate them out into their own battle.

Ornithologist Jerry Mcgahan Holding A 6-Month-Old Andean Condor In 1971

Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus)

© vistavia